Computer hardware systems utilize stacked printed circuit (PC) boards having electrical components mounted thereon. These components primarily include integrated circuits chips (ICs). During operation, the components and boards are heated due to the electrical energy or power dissipated by the components or chips. It is necessary that these elements be cooled or heat removed therefrom. Known cooling technology for modules having a number of stacked or aligned layers or boards having electronic components includes the use of heat pipes, liquid cooling and diamond films on ceramic or silicon. Cooling systems that employ such technology are relatively expensive, tend to be complicated and occupy considerable space. In another technique, a thermal electrically cooled integrated circuit package is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,897, issued Jul. 16, 1991 and entitled "Integrated Thermal Electric Cooling." The integrated circuit package disclosed in this patent acts by itself to dissipate thermal energy generated by the IC chip.
In the field of stacked or interconnected PC boards, interposer connectors have been proposed and developed for electrically interconnecting electrical conductors provided on the stacked boards. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,638,163, issued Jan. 25, 1972 entitled "Connector for Electrically Interconnecting Two Parallel Surfaces" and 3,985,413, issued Oct. 12, 1976 entitled "Miniature Electrical Connector," such devices are described. Generally, each includes an elastomeric body having a number of conductors spatially disposed along the length of the body. An insulating material is located between the conductors. The body and the accompanying electrical conductors are positionable between two substrates, with the electrical conductors providing the desired electrical connection between substrate conductors found on the two boards Relatedly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,628, issued Jul. 30, 1991 and entitled "Electrical Connector for Electrically Interconnecting Two Parallel Surfaces" describes a housing for surrounding the interposer body having the electrical conductors. The housing is fastened between two circuit boards.